We know that the Cosmere is comprised of three separate realms, namely the Physical realm the Cognitive realm and the Spiritual realm. We also have this from the ascended Sazed:
I have come to see that each power has three aspects: a physical one, which can be seen in the creations made by Ruin and Preservation; a spiritual one in the unseen energy that permeates all of the world; and a cognitive one in the minds which controlled that energy.
Which tells us that magic in the Cosmere is also comprised of a physical, spiritual and cognitive aspect each corresponding to the respective Cosmeric realm.
My theory is that every living entity in the Cosmere has three aspects as well, these are:
Body - Physical
Mind - Cognitive
Life force - Spiritual
Let us run it against some of the things in the Cosmere we know are alive.
Humans are obvious. Seons have an Aon that acts as both a body and a connection to the Shard Formerly Held by Aona (SFHA) which is their life force. I don't know where their mind comes from but it is quite obvious they have one. Nightblood has a sword for a body, breath for life force, and a command that gives him his cognitive aspect (he is also, apparently, moving towards sentience, but irregardless of his sentience, he is certainly alive). Animals are the same as humans, they have less sentience, but no one can deny that, unless Cosmere animals differ greatly from (insert name of our universe here) animals, they certainly have the ability to think. Spren are one of the more interesting things to apply this to; They obviously have bodies, and this:
Windspren were devious spirits who had a penchant for staying where they weren't wanted.....Windspren often played pranks like that.
...seems to indicate they can think, albeit not (excepting Syl) on a sentient level. You might say that the above quote is no good because it is about Syl, but these observations are made by Kaladin who obviously has had similar experiences with other spren so that is what I am basing this on. So they have bodies, though I don't know of what they are made, they have minds as evidenced by the fact that they can think, and they have life force as evidenced by their existence and movement. Plants are the only living thing that don't seem to me to be, to coin a phrase, "intuitively obvious". They have bodies, they have life force, and according to my theory they have a cognitive aspect as well, but I don't know what it is, regardless they must have one.
This theory really seems straightforward and almost obvious too me, but that does not mean it can't be wrong. Anyway I needed to write it so I could use it in another theory, so I guess I will post this and go finish writing that one. Feel free to dissect.
